Everything's Fine
by suzie2b
Summary: After the jeep is destroyed, Tully is taken prisoner and The Rat Patrol race to free him.
**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Everything's Fine**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **When Moffitt opened his eyes things were a bit blurry. Hitch looked down at the sergeant from where he was in the back of the jeep on look out and said to Troy, "Sarge, he's awake."**

 **Troy moved around the jeep and knelt down as Moffitt started to sit up. "Easy does it." He helped him lean back against the jeep. "You took a blow to the head when the jeep flipped. How do you feel?"**

 **As his vision began to clear, Moffitt said, "A bit woozy. What happened?"**

" **Far as we can tell a shell from a German tank hit the jeep and it flipped. Hitch and I chased the column off, but not before they got Tully loaded into a halftrack."**

 **Moffitt rubbed the back of his neck. "It's my fault. I was checking the map … didn't see the scout column until it was too late."**

 **Hitch said, "Don't go blaming yourself. Obviously Tully didn't see them either."**

 **Troy helped Moffitt to his feet. "He's right. I'm just glad we got here before the German's got both of you."**

 **Moffitt sat down in the passenger seat. "We have to go after Tully."**

" **Don't worry. We will." Troy indicated the tracks in the sand. "They left us a trail. Let's see where it goes."**

 **#########################**

 **Tully groaned softly and opened his eyes. He was laying on his side. He tried to sit up, but found his hands were tied behind his back and his feet were tied at the ankles. Then he noticed that he was in a halftrack and looked up at two Germans who were staring back at him. Tully couldn't remember how he got there.**

 **One German said to the other, "Lassen Sie ihn hoch."**

 **They each grabbed Tully under an arm and hauled him into a sitting position against the vehicle. He grimaced when pain flared as he was moved and looked down at his abdomen. Tully saw blood on his shirt, but couldn't see a wound. He let his head fall back against the side of the halftrack and closed his eyes.**

 **A while later the halftrack stopped and someone started giving orders in German. Tully's ankles were untied and he was pulled to his feet. He felt lightheaded and staggered a bit as he was helped down out of the halftrack. He was taken to a small fenced off area, where his hands were untied before he was propelled forward by a rough shove and fell on his left side. A canteen was tossed in with him. Tully rolled onto his back to watch the gate close and a heavy lock click into place. One of the German's remained on guard at the gate. Tully grabbed the canteen as he slowly got to his feet and staggered to the corner that was furthest from the guard. Gritting his teeth, he lowered himself down to take stock of his injury.**

 **Tully opened his shirt and found that a piece of shrapnel had hit him just left of his navel. The wound was no longer bleeding, but he had to get the shrapnel out. He took the couple inches of metal in his hand and hoped it wasn't too big or too deep. He pulled steadily and felt it move inside him. It didn't feel like it was too terribly big. Tully gritted his teeth as he held his breath, refusing to make a sound, and pulled harder until the piece of metal slid out. He gasped and looked at it before he tossed it a few feet away. He wadded up his shirt tail and pressed it against the now bleeding wound, but it was too much and he passed out.**

 **#########################**

 **The jeep followed the scouting column's tracks until they came to a camp at an oasis. Troy and Moffitt laid at the top of a sand dune with binoculars, searching the camp for any sign of their missing private.**

 **Finally Troy spotted Tully and whispered, "There he is."**

 **Moffitt shifted to where Troy was looking and saw the young soldier lying on his back. "I can't tell if he's conscious, but he's definitely hurt."**

 **It took a minute, but they finally saw movement as Tully slowly sat up. They could see that he was in pain. Troy and Moffitt watched as Tully used water from a canteen to flush the wound before he took a sip, then he took his shirt off and tore the sleeves away. He tied them together and then wrapped it around his abdomen as a bandage. Tully put what remained of his shirt back on and pushed himself back against a fence post, exhausted.**

 **Moffitt frowned angrily. "They're just ignoring the fact that he's injured."**

 **Troy signaled for Hitch to join them. When he got there, Troy handed him the binoculars and said, "They've got Tully locked up in some kind of makeshift prison."**

 **Hitch looked and quickly found Tully. "He looks in pretty rough shape."**

" **Yeah. We'll wait until it gets dark before we go in after him. In the meantime, I want you to go down there and give yourself up."**

 **Hitch's eyes got big, but he didn't say anything.**

 **Moffitt asked, "What's your plan, Troy?"**

" **Tully's going to need help getting out of there. They won't recognize Hitch. They'll just think it's their lucky day when it comes to prisoners."**

 **Hitch nodded. "Got it, sarge. I'll take care of Tully until you and Moffitt come for us."**

 **They watched as Hitch walked from behind the dune with his hands up. There was a lot of shouting as the Germans surrounded him and marched him toward the holding pen.**

 **#########################**

 **After the gate was locked, Hitch went to Tully and knelt down. He untied the bandage and checked the wound.**

 **Tully groaned and opened his eyes. "Hitch? What the…"**

 **Hitch whispered, "Shh. Take it easy. Were you shot?"**

" **No. Piece of shrapnel got me." Tully grimaced. "I pulled it out."**

 **Hitch looked around and spotted the piece of metal on the sand, then looked back at his friend. He knew that Tully was in trouble. He could feel the heat of fever and wondered if the wound was already infected or if there was any internal damage. Hitch carefully retied the bandage. "You're going to be okay, Tully."**

 **He let his head fall back again as he asked, "How did they get you?"**

" **I gave myself up. Troy and Moffitt are coming for us after it gets dark. They wanted me in here to help you get out."**

 **The whole incident came flooding back. "Moffitt's okay, then?"**

 **Hitch nodded. "Yeah. Bump on the head, but he's doing good." He picked up the mostly empty canteen and had Tully finish it off. Then he went to the guard at the gate and got his attention. Holding the canteen upside down to show that it was empty, Hitch said, "He's sick. We need more water."**

 **The guard stared at him for several seconds, then indicated with his rifle that Hitch should put the canteen on the ground. "Die Kantine." He set it down next to the wire. The guard again indicated with the rifle. "Wieder nach oben." Hitch backed off several paces. The guard reached through the wire and retrieved the canteen. He called another soldier over and handed the canteen to him. "Füllen Sie diese mit Wasser und bringen sie zurück." The soldier walked away and the guard gave a nod to the prisoner, as if to say that water was coming.**

 **When the guard resumed his position with his back to the gate, Hitch started back to Tully. Only he took a slight detour to pick up the piece of shrapnel.**

 **#########################**

 **During the last couple hours of daylight, Tully's condition began to deteriorate. When the sun went down, it got cold. Without blankets Hitch held Tully's back against his chest, trying to conserve what heat they had, as his friend slipped in and out of consciousness.**

 **Hitch whispered to himself, "Come on, sarge. Get us outta here." He watched as the camp settled down for the night and knew that Troy and Moffitt were waiting for the right moment.**

 **It came when all of the tents had been dark for about an hour. A couple of guards wandered the camp and one was at the gate of the holding pen. Hitch heard the jeep's engine before he heard the first burst from the 50 caliber. He shook Tully's shoulder until he opened his eyes. "You need to stay awake now." Hitch leaned him against the fence post and stood up as he grabbed the piece of shrapnel. "I'll be right back for you."**

 **In one fluid move Hitch ran forward and reached through the wire. Before the guard could react to anything that was beginning to happen, Hitch grabbed him and slit his throat with the piece of metal. As the guard fell, choking and bleeding out, Hitch rifled through his pockets until he found a key. He quickly had the gate open and went back for Tully. Hitch pulled him to his feet and put Tully's arm around his shoulders as he put his around Tully's waist. "Time to go."**

 **Grenades and the 50 caliber wreaked havoc throughout the camp. Half-dressed Germans raced from tents only to be cut down. Only Troy and Moffitt noticed the two prisoners that were escaping.**

 **And then it was quiet again. The jeep had stopped just long enough to pick up the two escapees, and they were gone.**

 **#########################**

 **Ten miles away Moffitt pulled into a waterhole. They got Tully out of the jeep and onto a blanket. Moffitt removed the bandage that Tully had made and examined the shrapnel wound while Troy held a flashlight and Hitch got the med kit.**

 **Tully groaned and shivered. Delirious from the fever he struggled weakly, not realizing that he was with friends. Troy and Hitch held Tully down while Moffitt did his best to clean the wound with alcohol, which caused more pain. Finally, after a clean dressing was secured, a half dose of morphine was given to Tully and they hoped he would start to calm down.**

 **Hitch asked, "Will that be enough to do him any good?"**

 **Moffitt nodded. "I don't dare give him more with that fever."**

 **They made room in the back of the jeep for Tully and wrapped him in blankets.**

 **Troy looked from Tully to Moffitt. "Think we should call for an ambulance?"**

 **Moffitt nodded and Hitch moved around the jeep to the radio. "We can meet them along the way. Make sure you tell them to bring penicillin. The sooner he gets that into his system the better."**

 **Three minutes later Hitch had finished making the call. "The ambulance will meet us at that old farmhouse near the wadi at Shinas.**

 **#########################**

 **The doctors at the field hospital did surgery to repair some minor internal bleeding and cleaned the wound thoroughly before they stitched Tully up. A full round of antibiotics would be given to him as well as IV fluids for dehydration and a unit of plasma.**

 **Tully opened his eyes two days later and saw Moffitt smiling down at him. His voice was a hoarse whisper as he said, "Hi."**

" **Hi yourself. It's about time you woke up." Moffitt changed the compress on Tully's forehead. "You've had us a little worried."**

 **Tully sighed. The cool cloth felt good. "Sorry."**

 **Moffitt patted his shoulder lightly. "You've still got a bit of a fever, but it's going down as the infection clears up."**

 **Tully looked up at the sergeant. "You okay?"**

" **I'm fine."**

" **Troy and Hitch?"**

 **Moffitt smiled again. "Everyone is fine, Tully. Are you in any pain? And don't tell me you're fine."**

 **Tully closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "No pain right now. Just sleepy."**

" **Then rest. We'll be able to take you home in a few more days."**


End file.
